Our house is in the sheetrock stage. All windows covered with painted plastic due to priming. Hard to distinguish room placement and flow pattern without light. Rain is not helping with little light for photo opportunities. Will try today if the sun returns. Tile flooring expected next week, cabinets the 3rd wk of January, and quartz sub-contractor needs to order countertops. This is my second time on a forum. Last week I posted my first here on Houzz. I was extremely surprised with the wonderful responses. Posting photos might be my New Years 1st. challenge……will try today.

It doesn't matter that much. In fact, it my be better if the sill went in first so the tile at the jambs (if there is any) could die on top of it. Have the sill installer leave the returned ends proud of the wall enough that the tiler can get thinset, tile, and a 1/16" gap for silicone behind them. This is where trade coordination is critical. I'd have the tiler dab hot melt on a small piece of blocking on the wall that's the thickness of the thinset, tile, and gap. Sill man butts the return ends to the blocking and the tile man knocks out the blocking when he lays the tile. Sill man templated to the blocking; no way to screw up.

I see no reason for ANYTHING to go to the ceiling. If you wanted something to the ceiling it should have been the cabinetry. I also wouldn't worry about the couch. A couch has nowhere near the permanence of a kitchen or its surfaces.. Tile or counter top material, to the bottom cabinets, and under the hood. Then paint. I don't love a real stone with a man made quartz in this scenario. Repeat the quartz, or tile.

Patricia, we are lowering the pony wall by 6 inches, but not all the way flush to the countertop, because I need a little separation/protection from water in our living room. The other areas of the kitchen have tile backsplash from the countertop to the bottom of the upper cabinets. So tiling that pony wall's one backsplash row behind the sink faucet would be more in keeping with the rest of the kitchen. I'd prefer having tile there to break up the white quartz: wall cap, countertop, and riser is too much white, I think. However, the tile guys' opinion that I would be unhappy maintaining tile there gave me pause, so I thought I'd ask y'all about it, for real world user experience! Thanks for sharing your tile vs. countertop riser behind sink experience!